RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech Golden Suns dropped their second consecutive five-set match on Saturday, falling to Southern Nazarene. Set scores were 22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 27-29, 16-14.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Southern Nazarene (12-9, 7-4 GAC) maintained a lead for much of the first set, until an 8-0 run put the Golden Suns ahead, 23-19. Hunter Eshnaur later gave Tech the 1-0 set-lead with her fifth kill of the game.
• Tech (15-10, 7-4 GAC) struggled on offense in the second set, hitting just .025 as a team with nine attack errors. Southern Nazarene posted the highest attack percentage of the match at .333.
• The Crimson Storm then took a 2-1 lead after a third-set victory, behind six kills from Kaitlyn Vought. The back-and-forth set featured 11 ties and seven lead changes, but an 8-4 run to end the game gave the advantage to SNU.
• The Golden Suns came alive in the fourth set, opening with nine consecutive points. The Crimson Storm slowly climbed back into the game, however, and despite five set-point opportunities for Tech, Southern Nazarene tied the score at 24-24.
• SNU then took a 25-24 lead, giving the Crimson Storm their first match-point opportunity. The Golden Suns responded, though, and after three more set-points, Tech finally forced a final set.
• Neither team could establish an early advantage in the final set, until the Golden Suns took a 13-10 lead on a block by Eshnaur and Lauren Rodemers. SNU took six of the final seven points, though, stealing the match from the Golden Suns.

 
NOTABLES

• With the loss, the Golden Suns fall into a three-way tie for fourth place in the Great American Conference.
• Tech finished the match hitting .184, while Southern Nazarene took the advantage with a .230 attack percentage.
• Southern Nazarene also won the battle up front on defense, out-blocking the Golden Suns, 14-9.
• Eshnaur led Tech with 15 kills, while adding nine digs, four assists and three blocks.
• Kaylee Konsella and McCall Wilkins each tallied 11 kills in the loss, while Konsella also finished with four total blocks.
• Rodemers recorded a career-high eight total blocks for the Golden Suns, having her hand on eight of Tech's nine blocks.
• Amanda Milnick assisted on a team-high 25 kills, while Rosinke followed with 20.
• Matti Dix led Tech with a season-high 21 digs. Madison Nagel added 17.

 
COACH BAYER SAYS

• "I thought that we played hard, but when it came down to crucial situations, we were not able to put the match away. We had a good weekend of volleyball, but you have to be able to put the ball away and get the W."

 
NEXT UP

• Arkansas Tech will return to action on Tuesday, Oct. 25. The Golden Suns will host a tri-match involving Central Baptist College and Lyon College. Tech takes on CBC at 1 p.m., and the Golden Suns are scheduled to host Lyon for "Faculty-Staff Appreciation Night" at 5 p.m.